Worlds Apart
by laughing on the inside
Summary: (Title Change) Xover ONESHOTS: Ch1; Ed agrees to be the Gatekeeper for a year in exchange for Alphonse's body. An FMAxHP crossover of a different kind. Ch2; Ed joins something called "The Black Order" in an attempt to find his way home. An FMAxDGM crossover. Ch3; Ed gets dumped into the world of Shugo Chara to find something called "the Embryo". Really, Truth? WTH? FMAxSC crossover
1. Harry Potter meets Fullmetal Alchemist

A/N Hello and Welcome to my story.

THIS STORY AND ALL FUTURE CHAPTERS ARE UP FOR ADOPTION; PLEASE CONTACT ME IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO CONTINUE IT.

I've had this idea floating around in my head for a while and I thought it was too unique of a concept to let die alone on my hard-drive.

Please let me know your thoughts

PLEASE READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE END FOR MORE INFORMATION REGARDING THIS SERIES.

* * *

**Adoptables**

_First Crossover; Harry Potter x Fullmetal Alchemist_

"Hello, Alphonse Elric," Truth greeted the youngest Elric as he was spat unceremoniously into Truth's world.

Alphonse nodded to the faceless being. He looked around the empty, white world that Truth called his home and found his body; a sallow, anorexic shell of his former self sitting patiently, waiting for him. Truth watched the soul of Alphonse transfer from the steel vessel and into the body of the golden haired, golden eyed boy.

"Do you think he's coming?" Truth asked with his ever-present grin.

"I know he is," Alphonse replied simply, his voice cracking from disuse.

"How do you know?"

"He is my brother," with that, Truth had no more questions. He sensed the battle and the alchemic transmutations taking place down in Amestris. He could feel the energy that the mortals were drawing from the gate, sense when some pulled too much or when some made a mistake in their array. Truth grinned and delivered the appropriate rebounds.

"Truth san?" Alphonse asked, watching the grinning being.

"Yes, Alphonse Elric?"

"What's it like being here?"

Truth sat opposite the emaciated Elric and considered the question.

"It's interesting. So many arrogant alchemists, all believing they are 'special', that they are 'important'. Showing them how insignificant they are, showing them why no one treads in God's domain is…interesting,"

"Do you enjoy that?"

"It gets a bit tedious, I must admit," Truth shrugged. They were all the same, really. When one existed for all time and would continue exist until forever, one would start to see their job as slightly repetitive. In actuality, there were very few alchemists that held any interest for him anymore.

Alphonse sat in quiet contemplation for a while, then, "Truth san? Do you get lonely?"

"Why do you ask, Alphonse Elric?"

"When I was a soul in the armour, I felt very lonely. When everyone goes to sleep and there's no one to talk to it gets very quiet," The boy looked down, reminiscing. No matter what happened next, that life was over; Alphonse would either be lost to the Gate, or he would not spend another lonely night.

"Oh, Alphonse Elric, I am never lonely and it is _never_ quiet,"

"What do you mean?" To Alphonse, it seemed that the stark white world was the epitome of silence and solitude, except for the echoing of their voices, resounding discordantly throughout the infinite space.

"This is what I hear," Truth said as the large double doors of the Gate materialised. They opened smoothly, silently, then the black hands grabbed furiously, reaching out desperately from the void. Voices cried and mingled together, begging for salvation, a second chance at life, for release from the eternal hell or merely asking, 'who am I?'. The cacophony was deafening; each piercing voice was unique, and yet the same. And there were millions of them. Each ripped at Alphonse's ears. He felt tears streaming down his face; each voice belonged to a person, who once had a life, had loved ones, had hopes and dreams, no matter how long ago that was.

Truth shut the doors. The voices stopped, at least to Alphonse. Each soul was encompassed within Truth itself; for Truth, the voices were never ending.

"How can you stand it?" Alphonse asked, once he had regained his breath and stifled the tears.

"You get used to it," Truth shrugged, "There's really nothing for me to do except sit back and listen to the symphony of tortured souls cry out. Oh, and that idiot Kimblee, who seems to revel in it. He's in there and still has his sanity. I think. After all, he may have lost that a while ago,"

Alphonse shuddered. He couldn't help but pity Truth who had nothing to look forward to, except to cram more desperate, foolish souls into the everlasting darkness that lay just beyond the doors of the Gate.

"Truth san, I'm sorry,"

Truth was surprised. "For what, Alphonse Elric?"

Alphonse looked up with haunted eyes. He expressed a kind of sympathy that Truth had never imagined.

"For your existence," he whispered. With that, Alphonse returned to his quiet thinking as Truth pondered his words. Was his 'life' really that bad? Was this existence all that terrible? He took a time out from his musings to send 'Father' into the eternal abyss of damnation, then went back to his thoughts. He was interrupted a second time by the older Elric.

"Ah, Edward Elric, have you come for your brother? How will you pay the toll?"

"With this," Edward said, indicating towards his own Gate. Each and every person had a Gate within themselves, allowing them to do alchemy.

"You will sacrifice your alchemy? Can you live without it?" Truth asked.

"I don't need it; I'm just an ordinary human who couldn't save one little girl. I've been controlled by it," Ed said placing his hands on the gate, "I don't need it; I still have my friends, after all,"

Truth was silent for a moment. The Elric brothers. Perhaps they were different from the others. He paused to consider his verdict. Alphonse Elric had gotten him thinking.

"What if, Edward Elric, there was another way, without sacrificing your alchemy?"

Edward looked at Truth, not understanding what he was getting at.

"I will give you a choice; your alchemy is, indeed, worth your brother's body so you may sacrifice it and leave. On the other hand, would you rather sacrifice a year of your life?"

"What do you mean? How can a year be worth his life?" Edward asked.

"Your brother is an interesting boy. He has gotten me thinking. My existence here really is tedious. I wouldn't mind travelling around and having a look at some of the different worlds connected to the Gate,"

"The Gate is connected to different worlds?"

"Of course; it is a gate," Truth said slowly, as if speaking to a dim witted child, purposely teasing the elder Elric, who promptly growled at him. Truth continued, "It leads to every world, universe or dimension that has ever, will ever or currently does, exist,"

Edward, forgetting the insult from earlier looked to the double doors with newfound appreciation, "Amazing," he said, "There are other worlds?"

"Many,"

"But still, how is one year of my life worth many years of his?"

"Simple; that year will be spent here, guarding the Gate. You will be my replacement for a year and, if you keep your sanity, I'll allow you to leave with your brother,"

"Wait! Al has to stay here? No deal!"

Truth snapped his fingers and Alphonse Elric appeared.

"Brother," Al smiled. Ed smiled back and went to help him up.

"I guess I could let Alphonse Elric go back to your world, but you'd have to stay here alone, can you handle that, Edward Elric?"

Ed agreed instantly, Alphonse however, "What's going on? Why are you staying here, big brother?"

"I stay here for a year, guard the gate, Truth has a holiday in a different dimension, you get your body back, I keep my alchemy," Ed summarised.

"Stay here alone?! No way, big brother, I saw what Truth holds within him, you can't handle it! It'll drive you insane!"

"Al, it's only a year,"

"Your human body won't even age; only your mentality. A year to finally mature," Truth grinned snarkily.

"Hey!"

"I want to stay, too, then!" Al demanded.

"No way! Look at you! You'll die!" Ed shouted gesturing to his emaciated state.

"This body has survived four years like this, I'm sure it can survive another," Al said, then wheezed sickly.

Ed gave him the told-you-so look.

"I could always give you food, I guess," Truth suggested, wondering how to work his idea.

"How?"

"When I'm travelling, I won't need to eat. My body does not absorb food. However, I could eat the food and transfer the nutrients to Alphonse. After all, if I eat, the food has to go somewhere; matter cannot be destroyed,"

"So Al would be getting what he needs to survive?" Ed asked wearily.

"As long as I remember to eat," Truth shrugged.

"I'd still rather Al get sent back to Amestris," Ed said.

"No, brother; we went into this together, we're going home together," Al smiled.

Ed glared at him, "Fine," he relented.

"If you want clothes or paper, ink or whatever you can just materialise it, by the way," Truth added as he prepared to leave.

"Huh?"

"This is God's domain; there is no equivalent exchange. You can make whatever you can dream of," Alphonse imagined some clothes that he wanted, and found that Truth was right; they appeared. He got dressed as Ed asked Truth,

"Can I make books to study?"

Truth shook his head, "You could write your own books, but to pull knowledge from nowhere? Even in God's domain 'Truth' and 'Knowledge' are sacred. You see, the things you materialise are illusory, they will feel physically real, but they can only exist within God's domain. Knowledge is not illusory; knowledge is truth and truth can never, by definition, be fake," The Elrics nodded their understanding. Truth thought for a moment, then snapped his fingers with a grin, "However," he said and waved his arm in a long, graceful arc. Miles of bookshelves appeared before the brothers, "While you have not read these books, I know everything. There are more books here than any library you are ever going to visit. However, you won't have much time to read; you'll be busy with the idiotic alchemists down there,"

"Yay. How do I handle it? I mean, I don't know how to be a bloody God! What am I supposed to do?!" Ed said frantically, realising with a panic that he had no idea what he was getting himself into.

"Don't fret, Alchemist," Truth smiled and, suddenly Ed could hear the cacophony of voices, all shouting in his ear at once, there were so many that they melded into a continuous stream of gibberish. Ed gritted his teeth and tried to concentrate, but found it was nearly impossible. Then suddenly, it went quiet again. He could hear Truth's voice, but his mouth wasn't moving.

"I have now connected our minds; I can read your thoughts, you can read mine, you can see through my eyes, I can see through yours," Truth said telepathically, then spoke out loud for Alphonse's benefit.

"I'll keep an eye on you from wherever I go. After all, I can't have you burning down the Afterlife,"

"But what about those voices?" Ed asked, hoping that he wouldn't have to hear them again, but resigned to sucking it up and dealing with it if he did.

"Since both you and Alphonse are staying, I think it would be equivalent exchange if I kept the voices within myself. I'm getting two gatekeepers for the price of one, after all."

With the ground rules laid, Truth considered where he wanted to go. There were an infinite number of worlds he could explore, but no matter where he went, he couldn't go in the form he was in. He looked over to Edward, who was experimentally making random things pop out of the air, a large chair falling from above his head and nearly squashing him flat. Alphonse laughed at his brother and took a seat on a plush arm chair he had materialised. Truth grinned, then changed his form to a mirror image of Edward.

"Hey!" Ed yelled when he saw his twin standing before him.

"I need a human image, who better than you? You won't be existing any time soon anyway," Truth shrugged.

"How rude," Ed muttered.

"Good luck, Mr. Al-che-mist," Truth said ignoring his whining and taking his place before the Gate. The doors opened widely, the tangling, black hands reached out.

"Got any problems, just think," Truth added, then he allowed the hands to take him and the doors slammed close.

"This is going to be one hell of a year," Ed muttered.

Al smiled, "Don't worry brother; I'm sure this will be an interesting experience,"

* * *

Truth stepped through the double doors of the gate and appeared on the steps of a castle. He looked up and wondered for a moment where he was. He hadn't picked a specific destination, instead allowing the cosmos to choose where to spit him out.

He looked around and found a small hut near a forest and knocked on the door. A very tall man with very bushy hair answered.

"Who do we 'ave 'ere then?" the man asked.

"I'm Edward Elric," Truth replied, too lazy to come up with a name. _Hey! Don't steal my name! _ Edward growled in his head. Truth ignored him.

"Are ye an 'ogwart's student? Wait! School aint begun yet! What are ye doin' 'ere?"

"…Who's in charge?" Truth asked, ignoring the large man's question.

"Dumbledore. I think you should go see 'im. I'll take ye" The giant took him to see the headmaster, who was an old man with twinkling eyes.

"Hello, dear boy," The old man greeted Truth.

"Hi. I'm Edward, call me Ed," Truth said. Ed growled again, but Truth told him to deal with it.

"I see. I'm Albus Percival Wulfric Brian _Dumbledore._Would you mind telling me how you got here?"

"I…don't remember," Truth decided. _Lame_ Edward added in his thoughts. Truth materialised a large body of water above Edward's head, drenching the alchemist and causing him to curse at Truth. _How the hell did you do that?!_ Edward demanded.

_I still control my domain; you and Alphonse are merely…babysitting for me_. Truth responded.

"You don't remember?" Dumbledore asked, bringing Truth back to the present. Truth nodded.

"Do you know what Legimency is, dear boy?"

"No," Truth replied.

"Legimency will allow me to look through your mind to make sure that you're telling me the truth, will you allow me?"

Truth shrugged, nonchalantly. He felt Dumbledore invade his mind, but kept it carefully blank, allowing only his memory of arriving on the steps of the castle until now to be accessed.

"How curious; you really don't remember anything," Dumbledore said, sitting back. He thought about the predicament for a moment, then decided, "You don't seem like much of a threat, my boy, so I shall let you attend my School. After all, you must have magical potential to have made it here," Dumbledore declared.

"School?" Truth asked, "What is this place?"

"My boy, welcome to Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,"

* * *

Truth stood in Diagon Alley, Dumbledore by his side.

"Everything you need is on that list and I am certain you will be able to find everything with no problems," Dumbledore said, "If there are any, though, go in there and speak to Tom, the bartender. I have informed him that you will be staying there the night, then leaving for Kingscross station in the morning. I'm terribly sorry to leave you on your own, but I must attend to a few things before school starts, but I know for a fact that you're a smart boy, you'll figure it out, yes?"

"Certainly," Truth replied.

"Good, here you go," Dumbledore handed him a pouch full of coins, then disapparated.

Truth looked through the list. There were quite a few items. Dumbledore had decided that Truth looked like a fifth year. He was debating over whether to put Truth in first year or not, but Truth, not liking that idea one bit, argued that he could handle the fifth year syllabus. Dumbledore, unconvinced, gave him a week to study for a written and practical test. He gave him the books needed and, tested Truth himself in a four hour session. He was thoroughly amazed and utterly convinced that Truth would have no trouble skipping the first few years. In reality, Truth didn't bother reading the books, but wondered around the halls of Hogwarts, taking in the amazing sights and curious layout of the castle. An hour before the test he had merely glanced through the books and instantly memorised everything he saw.

Truth went to the book shop and spent an hour skimming through the contents of most of the books in the shop. He was quite new to this world and wanted to know everything there was to know, since he was, after all, the 'Gate of Knowledge'.

_Hey, Truth,_ Ed said in his mind. Truth had left the book shop and was now being fitted for robes.

_Yes, Alchemist_?

_How can this world exist? There is no such thing as magic, it defies equivalent exchange!_

Truth considered the question, then replied, _In your world, there is a Gate within everyone, which you already know. In order to perform alchemy, one makes a sacrifice to the Gate, the doors open and you get your desired result. In this world, not everyone has a Gate within themselves; only a small number of the population does. To compensate for this, those that do have a Gate do not have to pay tolls_

Ed sent a confused jumble of incoherent, half formed ideas in reply. Truth rolled his eyes at Edward's thought processes, which were complicated to say the least. He watched in amusement for a while before clarifying,

_Think of it like this; in Amestris everyone has a gate that is half opened; to open it fully, you use alchemy. In this world, the gate is either fully opened or bolted shut. They do not need to give equivalent exchange. Their equivalent exchange is that half of their fellow humans are unable to perform any sort of alchemy or magic._

Ed thought more on the topic, but Truth paid no more attention to him. During their conversation, he had gotten his robes fitted and bought most of the things on his list. All that was left was a pet and a wand.

He decided to go for the wand first and found a shop called "Olivander's". The old man looked at him, then measured his 'wand arm'.

"You are very odd," The man said.

"That doesn't seem like a polite thing to say to a customer," Truth responded.

"I apologise, it's just that usually I can say something about a customer; their personality, their heritage, their future, but you are an odd exception," the man handed Truth a wand, which promptly exploded into splinters. This happened for the next eight or nine wands.

"You must have an amazing amount of magic!" Olivander looked at the boy with awe, "This has never happened before!"

Truth shrugged, not knowing what to say.

Ollivander disappeared into his workshop and emerged with an ivory box. He lifted the cover and lying in the purple velvet was a dark wand made of some dense wood, "This is my best wand; I was saving it for someone special. Someone incredible. I think it's you,"

Truth picked up the twelve inch, ember wood wand. It was heavier than most of the others he had tried and seemed much sturdier; perhaps this would be the right one?

It exploded.

Truth sighed, slightly disappointed, "Sorry, I'll fix all of this," Truth clapped his hands, a gesture that wasn't needed but he enjoyed all the same, and placed them on the floor of the shop. There was a glow of pure white, then Olivander found each of the nine wands sitting in the middle of the shop, good as the day he had crafted them.

"What did you do?" He asked in wonder.

"I erased your thoughts," Truth grinned and did just that. He left the shop, with Olivander sitting in a slight daze on the ground.

_You didn't have to do that_ Ed said.

_Do what?_

_Erase his thoughts_

_I can't very well spend the next two hours explaining that I am the God of Truth and Alchemy to him either._

Ed snorted, but conceded the point.

Truth thought about it, then decided that he didn't really need a wand. He clapped his hands and formed a branch out of thin air to act as a visual aid more than anything else. He was finding the lack of equivalent exchange extremely useful.

_Stop stealing my thing!_ Ed yelled in Truth's mind after seeing him clapping his hands. Truth chuckled to himself and went to find a pet. He found the owl emporium and looked inside. The owls, sensing his presence, grew completely silent, all bowing their heads in reverence.

"That's the oddest thing," The shop owner said to one of the customers.

"Yes, it is strange; why is it so quiet?" Normally, the emporium was a hectic place, filled with birds clawing at cages, hooting angrily or chirping softly. Truth looked around the shop, but none of them interested him, he left and the owl emporium returned to its former chaos.

Truth decided that if he was going to have a pet, he'd might as well get an interesting one. He walked around and found a shady looking petshop hidden in the shadows of an alleyway. He looked inside and found the shop was cramp and dark. The menagerie of odd looking creatures inhabiting cages much too small for their size, made various cawing, hooting, screeching noises, clawing against the bars of their cages.

"Hello?" the owner asked. He was a shady, greasy, lazy-eyed looking fellow missing a few teeth.

"Hello," Truth responded, "I'm looking for an interesting pet,"

"Ah, you've come to the right place; we have all kinds of animals," he gestured to the various things kept in cages, which, like the owls in the emporium, had all gone completely silent.

_How boring_ Truth thought to himself. He was about to leave, when a crash from the back room caught his attention.

"What's back there?" Truth asked.

"Ah, a special animal, though I don't know if I should show you…" the owner looked around shiftily.

"I assure you whatever it is, I won't report you to any authorities," Truth said. He also pulled a large sack of good from his robe pocket, "If I like what I find, I can also pay handsomely for it," Truth showed him the gold, which was pulled out of thin air. The lack of equivalent exchange in this world was quite handy.

The man smiled and drew back a curtain, leading him into his back room. The man pulled a hood off of a large cage and showed him a large, flaming bird.

"This is a phoenix," the owner showed proudly, "I bought it off the black market as an egg. It hatched quite recently," The bird thrashed and cawed with unending exuberance. It looked at Truth, but seemed to ignore his Godly aura, scratching vehemently against the lock.

"Can't Phoenixes burst into flames and reappear in other places?" Truth asked, remembering a passage from one of his books, 'Care of Magical Creatures'.

"I cast a special charm on this cage when that buzzard was only an egg; can't get out unless I open it," The man grinned cruelly and pulled out a whip, cracking it against the bird, "Shut up!" he growled at it.

"How much is it?" Truth asked, disgusted at the man's treatment of the poor bird, hoping to buy it then set it free.

"Sorry, boy, it's not for sale. I'm going to make more from selling off its feathers and tears and such,"

Truth glared at the man. The bird would likely be trapped in that cage for the rest of its eternal life; being passed from owner to owner, its body used as ingredients for potions or some other crap. Truth reached out to the cage.

"Hey, boy! Don't touch!" Truth ignored him and grasped the lock. With a twist of his fingers, the large iron padlock crumbled and fell to the ground. Truth pulled open the door and released the phoenix. The bird looked at him, clearly suspicious. It perched on one of the shelves, watching as the man pulled out his wand and attempted to cast an immobilisation spell on Truth. Unfortunately for the man, the spell merely ricocheted off of Truth. The man fired a dozen more curses, before he looked in horror at the boy before him.

"What are you?" The man asked.

"No one you need to worry about," Truth said and waved his arm. Dozens of clicks were heard simultaneously as the padlocks snapped off of the cages, freeing all of the animals in the shop.

"No! Stop!" he yelled as the creatures dashed from the wretched place and out into the street, some disappearing, others flying away, most scurrying down the sewers or down the roads, past astonished witches and wizards, all wondering what was happening. Truth moved to leave, then looked back at the man. He gave his normal, maniacal grin, then strolled easily out of the shop.

_Didn't know you were such an animal lover. _ Ed commented.

Truth shrugged, _I know what it feels like to be trapped for eternity_. Truth thought about the phoenix, _I hope it's happy with its freedom._

_Shouldn't you have wiped his mind or something?_

_I don't care; no one's going to believe him anyway._

_That's a bit lax of you._

Truth shrugged that man would be of no consequence. Truth made his way out of the shop and picked up a few more things on his list before retiring back to the Leaky Cauldron, no longer wanting a pet.

He ate some food, almost forgetting until Ed yelled at him to make sure he ate a lot. After he finished the dishes, Truth reformed them back in the white world. Al thanked him.

_How come we can't just create food for Al to eat?_ Ed asked.

_The things you create in that world aren't 'real'. You could create all the food you wanted, but when Alphonse's body goes back to the real world, it would all disappear. _

With that, Truth went upstairs to his room. He organised a trunk and filled it with all of the things that he had bought. The bartender informed him that he would organise transport to Kingscross station. Truth laid down in bed, wondering if he would fall asleep.

He didn't.

Truth sighed, after two hours of uneventful tossing and turning, he decided to talk to the Elrics. He linked his mind to Alphonse's as well, since the more the merrier. They sat up discussing many philosophical topics that had been plaguing the minds of the Elrics since they had first met the God. Truth answered their questions patiently, but was interrupted by a burst of flames.

_The hell?_ Ed asked.

_Brother,_ Al admonished. Truth looked over to the dresser to see that it had caught fire. The phoenix from earlier sat perched on the flaming furniture. It looked quite proud of itself, puffing its bright orange chest up. Truth rolled his eyes at the bird's cockiness and waved his hand, restoring the cabinet to its former, dilapidated glory. The bird made a face like a scowl. It looked at Truth and cocked its head, obviously sensing his great magic and Godly powers and trying to decipher them.

_What an interesting bird_. Alphonse commented.

_It's a glorified chicken. I say you should eat it_, Ed commented with a grin. Truth ignored the asinine comment and reached a hand out towards the bird. It flew down and landed on his arm. It analysed Truth with its onyx-black eyes and seemed to decide upon something. Truth wondered what conclusion it had reached, when it started pecking at his head.

"Hey, stupid bird! Stop that," Truth commanded angrily. The bird seemed to enjoy nipping at his hair. Truth jerked his arm and the bird burst into flames, appearing on his bed.

"You're lucky that I'm an immortal God, or that could have done some serious damage," Truth muttered as he patted out his flaming clothes.

_Truth san, are you keeping the phoenix as a pet?_ Al asked.

"No, the _chicken_ can do whatever it wants," Truth said out loud for the benefit of the bird. The phoenix sensed that it was being insulted and renewed its attack upon Truth, tearing little snippets off his clothes.

_I think it likes you, Truth san!_ Al laughed. Truth rolled his eyes, but couldn't help the small smile that tugged at his lips.

* * *

The next morning, Truth found himself standing at Kingscross station. He looked around for platform 9¾, but found nothing. He was about to give up and summon a Gate to transport him to Hogwarts, when he caught sight of several students running through a wall. He grinned and did the same.

Once on the proper platform, he loaded his bags and made his way into the train. He found an empty compartment and sat. He sent his mind to the Elrics, but both were engrossed in reading a variety of books that Truth had conjured for them. Truth sighed and hoped that something interesting would come along and entertain him.

As if on cue, two boys and a bushy haired girl slid the door open.

"Oh, sorry for intruding," the girl said, "All the other compartments are pretty full, mind if we join you?" She asked.

Truth shook his head and gestured for them to take a seat, happy for some company.

"I'm Hermione Granger," she said with a smile.

"I'm Ronald Weasley," the boy next to her with orange-red hair introduced.

The boy next to him shuffled slightly, "I'm Harry Potter," he said awkwardly.

Truth noted that the boy was the one in the papers, but otherwise made him no extra mind.

"I'm Edward Elric," Truth said as they took a seat opposite him.

"What year are you in, Edward?" Hermione asked.

"Call me Ed and I'm in fifth year,"

"Really? Us too, did you transfer?" Ron asked.

"No. I just woke up on the steps of Hogwarts with no memory and Prof. Dumbledore decided to admit me," Truth replied.

"Geez, man, no need to be sarcastic," Ron said, slightly put off.

Truth considered correcting him, but the thought of answering the barrage of questions that would follow made him cringe. He shrugged to himself and made small talk with the other two, since Ron would only give curt answers.

* * *

"What's with the skeletal horses?" Harry asked, slightly disgusted.

"There aren't any…" Ron began, but Truth cut him off. He decided that, since Ron already had a bad impression of him, it would be fun to continue bugging him.

"What, you can't see them?" Truth asked patronisingly. Ron was about to curse at him, when a third voice broke in.

"They're thestrals," They looked to a quirky blonde girl who introduced herself as Luna Lovegood, "They can only be seen by those who have seen death," She informed.

"Oh…" Harry said, disconcerted. Truth walked up to the horses. They looked and sniffed at him. Truth petted them softly,

_Those are some messed up chimeras_, Ed commented. Truth shook his head.

_I think they're lovely beasts,_ Truth replied.

_You're creepy_, Ed said, a shiver running down his spine as the horse turned its eyeless gaze at Truth.

_Don't be so judgemental,_ Truth admonished as he jumped into the carriage with the rest of them.

* * *

They arrived at the Great Hall and Truth parted with them at the entrance.

"Where are you going, Ed?"

"I have to be sorted, so I guess I'll see you later," Truth smiled and waved them off.

Harry and the gang made their way to the Gryffindor table.

"I think that guy's pretty nice," Harry commented.

"Yeah, he's quite friendly," Hermione agreed.

"I don't like him. I reckon he'll be sorted into Slytherin," Ron pouted.

"Oh, don't be so petty, Ron. He was just having a bit of fun with you," Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron's childishness.

"He didn't have to be so rude," Ron argued, referring to the 'sarcastic' comment.

"Oh, the sorting's starting," Harry said, shushing his friends.

Truth walked out to wait in the wings. There were a few speeches given by a few teachers, but suddenly, Truth felt a tug.

_What the hell?_ Ed asked him.

_That feeling means that an alchemist has drawn his array wrongly. _ Truth informed him.

_So what am I supposed to do? _Ed asked in a panic. The tug was turning into a throbbing pain.

_There should be an array on the floor, do you see it?_ Truth cast his mind to his domain and saw Ed looking around. Al pointed to a glowing circle that hadn't been there before. It started with faint lines, but grew more bright as the seconds passed, soon the white world was bathed in an eerie green light, emitted from the transmutation circle.

_Can you sense what is wrong?_ Truth asked Ed.

_Whoever's doing this transmutation didn't account for the fact that whatever he's transmuting is made mostly out of iron, not silver._ Ed noted, realising that he could feel what the alchemist was trying to do and see the mistakes in the array.

_Exactly. Your job is to deliver a rebound. Place your hands on the array and focus._ Truth instructed. Ed did as he was told and the throbbing pain, which had grown into a vicious stabbing, left him instantly. He also felt a drain of energy as the array faded out of existence.

_What just happened?_ Ed asked.

_The pain in your stomach was delivered to the fool on the other side of the circle,_ Truth said. Ed frowned and was about to question Truth, when a voice broke them out of their situation,

"And now a new student who will be joining the ranks of our fifth years. I hope you will all make him feel welcome; Edward Elric,"

There was a small smattering of applause as Truth emerged from the side door and took his seat on the stool. He had no idea what was going on, but followed the gestures of the Professor. He felt a ragged hat being placed on his head, then felt a presence invading his mind. Truth instantly clamped down on his thoughts, allowing nothing to be gleaned.

"...boy, who are you? You have no thoughts!" The hat said in surprise.

"Who gave you permission to look through my mind?" Truth asked.

"I am an enchanted hat…" the Sorting hat began, but Truth grinned his creepy, all knowing, slightly maniacal, grin.

"No…I remember you. You are Mandrakus Feathermore. I remember you and Godric Gryffindor. I remember your attempted human transmutation. Oh, you were both so, so foolish," Truth's grin widened, "You thought you were God Almighty. I see that you are still in need of a few lessons," Truth said to the hat in his mind.

"You…you can't be…" the hat whispered in his mind. It was true. The Sorting hat had not always been a hat, nor was he an enchantment. He and his good friend, Godric Gryffindor had decided to dapple in something far out of their mortal understanding and Mandrakus had paid the ultimate price.

"Do you want to see into my mind, Mandrakus? It cost you a body last time, I wonder what you have left to offer…your soul?" Truth grinned and allowed the double doors of the Gate to open.

"NOOOOO!" The Sorting Hat screamed. It thrashed violently, trying to remove itself from Truth's head. The teachers ran to the hat and pulled it off the boy in shock.

"What's happening, Sorting Hat?" Dumbledore asked.

"No…no…not again!" the hat cried, "We were stupid! We're sorry, not again!" the hat continued its frantic sobbing. The teachers were utterly confused.

"What's wrong with the hat?" Truth asked innocently looking to each professor.

"I don't know, boy, I'm sorry. This has never happened before," Dumbledore muttered as he picked up the hat. It continued writhing and twisting in his grip. The students, and much of the staff, looked on in dumbfounded surprise.

"So what happens now?" Truth asked.

"I…I don't know," Dumbledore admitted.

"Can I choose a house?" Truth asked.

"That's nonsense! Student's can't choose their house," Professor McGonagal chastised.

"What choice do we have, Minerva?" Dumbledore asked, holding the still sobbing hat delicately in his hands. He nodded to Truth, indicating he could choose his house.

Truth looked to each coloured table. He had read the history book, so he knew that Hufflepuffs were for the kind and loyal, something Truth found utterly boring. He knew Ravenclaw was for the smart, but he was not here for knowledge, he was here for adventure. That left Slytherin and Gryffindor. Pride and greed were always fun to fool with, but courage and stupidity are a dangerous combination.

Truth grinned and announced his decision.

* * *

End of Crossover 1

SLYTHERIN OR GRYFFINDOR? Which would Truth choose? Bug Harry and Co. or bug Malfoy and Co.?

Okay so here's the deal; that is all I've written of the story. I have a couple of ideas more, but I would absolutely love it if you guys could leave a review of what you thought. I'm pretty sure this is a unique concept, I don't think I've read it anywhere else. I also like its potential to spread to other fandoms.

Anyway, if you like and have ideas for it, please leave a review for me!

If you'd like to adopt this story because you have millions of your own ideas, please contact me either through a review or inbox me!

Please do follow this story as I'll be updating it with other crossovers. Each crossover will include FMA (specifically Ed). Ones I have planned; Fruits Basket, Shugo Chara, Twilight. If you have any other crossovers you'd like to see, please let me know.

Please check out my profile for more information about this story!

And lastly, please review if you enjoyed!

:D Laughing on the Inside :D


	2. DGrayman meets Fullmetal Alchemist

A/N:Wow, the feedback for the previous chapter was incredible! Thank you guys so much!

Sincerely The Sign Painter suggested I do a FMA x Blue Exorcist crossover. Unfortunately, I haven't read enough of the series to do that competently. If I ever do, I'll definitely give it a shot. If anyone else has suggestions, leave 'em in the comments and i'll see what I can do :)

And now, onto the next installment of Adoptables! This is an FMA x crossover!

This one probably isn't up for adoption because, though I haven't finished it, I have plotted out and revealed the ending. If you'd like to adopt this story and want to change the ending, feel free to let me know.

This story features Armony, a character from the FMA games, specifically "Fullmetal Alchemist and The Broken Angel".

IMPORTANT; IF YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED THIS GAME IT DOESN'T MATTER. NEITHER HAVE I. I've watched the youtube cutscenes though and I've explained her background in the story itself so don't worry about it if you've never heard of the game.

If you're interested, look up Armony's letter on youtube. You can find a dub of it. It's worth listening to (it's only 3 minutes)

Anyway, let me know your thoughts on this story and whether it was good or not.

* * *

**Adoptables**

_Second Crossover; x Fullmetal Alchemist_

Ed had been on this side of the gate for nearly a year. He groaned as it began to rain, cursing his luck and rubbing his metal shoulder port.

"Gah! Stupid rain!" He yelled at the sky, shaking a threatening fist. Despite his frustration at the weather, he was, nonetheless, utterly relieved to have finally made it; before him stood the large, imposing cliff face of the Black Order headquarters.

He huffed. He had been searching for a way to return home through the Gate ever since Truth had thrown him into his current predicament. He had spent a year traveling and hitch hiking around Europe. All over the continent he had been hearing of strange beings called Akuma. At first, he had written the tales off as strange rumours, that is, until he faced one in the flesh. He had acted fast and killed it off instantly using alchemy. It was relatively easy; no where near as hard as trying to kill a homunculus.

After asking around and following the threads of gossip, he had finally found people to point him in the right direction.

Thus, he stood at the base of a very tall cliff, wondering how to scale it. Climb? Use alchemy to raise a hill? Was there even enough dirt under him to raise a hill that high? He was still debating when a white haired young man approached him.

"Hi," the white haired boy said amicably, "Are you going to the Black Order?"

"Yup, just trying to figure out how to get there," Ed replied looking like he was having a staring contest with the rock wall.

"I guess there's no other way but to climb," the boy said.

Ed shrugged, he had been planning to do more exercise anyway, "Guess you're right,"

They began hesitantly, finding footholds and handholds in the crumbly stone. Their progress was slow but steady. Ed was surprised at the boy's stamina. Neither of them found the climb particularly strenuous, so they passed the time with conversation.

"I'm Ed, by the way," he began.

"I'm Allen Walker," the boy replied, looking for another handhold.

* * *

By the time the two had almost reached the peak, they had managed to swap many stories. At present, Allen was describing to Ed his anti-Akuma weapon. He then had a brilliant idea and invocated it to see if using a massive claw to climb a sheer rock face was a feasible plan. Needless to say, it was a bad idea. Allen gave a yelp as he restored his arm back to normal, clambering at the cliff face as he fell backwards through the air. Ed rolled his eyes at the foolish boy and clapped his hands, balancing precariously on two footholds. He pressed his palms into the rock and created himself a platform, as well as forming a stone hand to catch Allen.

After taking a two minute breather to get over the adrenaline rush of a near death experience, Allen looked around himself with surprise.

"Is this the 'Alchemy' you were telling me about?" he asked.

"Yup. Useful, isn't it?"

"It really is!" he said, but then his expression fell and he groaned up at Ed, "Do I have to climb all the way back up there? We were almost to the top!"

"What? You don't feel like climbing anymore?"

"No, no. I love climbing, there's nothing better in the world than lugging myself up a sheer cliff face and falling nearly a hundred feet, only to be caught by a nice plush _stone_ fist," Allen shouted back sarcastically.

"Well, I have an idea then," Ed called down. He clapped again and the stone fist withdrew back into the cliff face and created a set of steps. Allen easily ran up the stair case to where Ed was standing.

"And you didn't do this before because…?" Allen asked staring up at the peak that wasn't too far now.

Ed shrugged, "Thought you needed the exercise," he grinned.

Allen laughed with him and they climbed the rest of the cliff face. Ed told Allen more about his alchemy and how it was his 'Innocence'. Allen was intrigued and asked a couple more questions on the topic, but the answers he got were very confusing, so he stopped. As they reached the top, Ed asked about Allen's eye, noticing the scar.

"It's a curse I got from my guardian, Mana," Allen explained a summarised version of the story to Ed. Ed nodded, realising that what Allen had done was not much different to what he and Al had done.

"I understand where you're coming from," Ed said patting Allen's back, but not looking him in the eye. Allen, not knowing Ed's past, doubted that, but accepted the gesture all the same. Two hours worth of climbing and conversation had made them fast friends.

"So…this is it, huh?" Ed said, more to himself than Allen. He stared at the tall dark building that stood before them. It was an imposing structure to say the least.

"Yeah…"

"How do we get in?"

Allen shrugged and turned to Timcampy, who was floating next to him. Allen was about to suggest an idea, but was cut off by Ed's booming voice. Allen had learnt, in the bonding/torturous climbing session, that Ed had a short fuse and limited patience.

"Oiiii!" Ed bellowed, "Open up! We're here to be part of your cult thing!"

Allen face palmed before berating Ed for his bad manners.

_Just like Al,_ Ed thought sadly to himself.

"Go away, outsiders are not welcome!" a voice answered them, loudly. Both boys jumped in surprise and noticed a megaphone on a large pole to their left.

"I'm sorry, I think what my friend was trying to say is that we are exorcists. I was told to come here by my master, General Marian Cross," Allen explained frantically, trying to fix Ed's screw up.

"Oh. Well. That's different. The Gate-Keeper will examine you, then you can come up," the voice fizzled out as the connection was cut.

Ed and Allen turned to face the Gate-Keeper.

"X-ray examination! Determining whether or not subjects are human…" It shouted, examining/freaking out Allen first. It paused for a brief moment, then shouted with vigour, "He's outta here! He's an Akuma in disguise! He's in league with the Earl! The other one's out too, by association!"

Edward raised an eyebrow at Allen.

"Hey!" Allen shouted back angrily at the gate, "We're not friends of the Earl!"

Allen would have continued his protests, had a black haired samurai not appeared behind them, pointing his sword menacingly at his head.

"Tch, stupid Akuma. Walking right up to the Order all alone," the teen said with disgust.

"We're not freaking Akuma, you dumbass!" Ed growled at him, taking a defensive stance.

"Wait, can't we talk this out?" Allen asked, hands held up in surrender at the boy whose sword hovered inches away from his nose.

"No," Said the samurai as he began his attack on Allen. He lunged forward with a slicing motion. Allen activated his arm and defended himself. He was confident that if he could catch a bullet, a sword wouldn't be too much of a problem.

To his surprise, the blade carved a long, jagged gash across Allen's plated arm. Allen cringed in pain. Ed narrowed his eyes slightly. He jumped between Allen and his attacker.

"Look, I admit I'm an Akuma, but I come in peace," He said.

Allen shot Ed a look the Asian man snorted, "Like I believe you'd come in peace,"

"Watch, I'm putting my hands up. Nothing in them," he said clapping his hands to emphasise the point, "I'm putting my hands on the ground now," Ed said, bending down. The tall dark haired samurai watched him, keeping his eyes also on Allen.

Ed placed his palms on the floor and suddenly, the samurai was encased in a rock tomb. It engulfed his entire body, but left his head free.

Shock and anger warped the dark haired man's face. He struggled to free himself, but couldn't move his arms, let alone his sword. He concentrated and channeled his energy for a moment, Ed watching with interest. Allen, however, was busy trying to make peace with the Order.

"We're seriously exorcists!" he shouted toward the megaphone on a pole, "General Cross should have sent a letter or something about my arrival!"

After a prolonged silence, the Asian man broke free of his encasing and began swiping at Ed. A new voice called out,

"Kanda, stop! We've found the letter!" the boy refused to spare even a glance toward the megaphone, instead choosing to continue his attack on Ed.

"Tch, fine the white haired one is an exorcist, but that one admitted to being an Akuma!" He growled with another swipe.

Ed jumped back in a crouch. He had trouble dodging Kanda's sword, flipping away and ducking at the last second, until a Chinese girl with a clipboard floated down.

"Kanda, we told you to _stop_!" She said.

"I did stop…attacking the white haired one," he grumbled, concentrating his efforts on slicing Edward in half.

"Stop attacking the other one as well, he's been confirmed by another exorcist!" She said in exasperation.

Edward perked up slightly, "Really?" he asked, still in a defensive crouch.

"Hey, Ed, I thought you said that you didn't know anyone here?" Allen asked quietly, un-invoking his Innocence and rubbing his arm with nervousness.

"I don't," Ed whispered back, trying to remember if he had made any contacts. Trying and failing.

"My name is Lenalee Lee. Please allow me to escort you inside," The Chinese girl said with a smile. She seemed friendly enough, though the sword swinging grouch looked nonplussed.

Allen tried to strike up a conversation with him, but the man, Kanda, just sneered and insulted him. Edward looked around the hall, memorising as much detail as he could. They were given a tour around and were finally led to another Asian-looking individual.

"Hello, Allen Walker, Edward Elric," He said, "I am Komui Lee, the Scientific Group Supervisor,"

"Hi," Allen said smiling. Edward nodded briefly at the man before turning to away to examine their .

"Allen, I heard that your weapon was damaged. Allow me to fix it," He said smiling gleefully.

"Sure…"Allen said uncertainly. He waved goodbye to Ed and followed Komui to another room.

"Hey, ummm, Lenalee was it?" Ed asked once the two had left.

"Yes Elric san?"

"Just call me Ed. I was wondering who confirmed me."

"Oh…" She said looking around, "She's around here somewhere. I'll get her for you in a moment. We'll visit Hevlaska first,"

"Umm, who?"

Lenalee smiled reassuringly, "Don't worry, you'll meet her soon enough," She said as she lead Ed into another room and began informing him of all the aspects of living in the Order, rules, regulations, missions, etc.

* * *

After what seemed like hours of boredom for Ed and many painful sounding shrieks from Allen, they were ready to visit Hevlaska. The two stood side by side on a platform that was being viewed by the silhouettes of pompous looking people, whom Ed guessed were high ranking officers.

"You're going to show these people your potential," Komui said dramatically as many white hands grabbed at them from behind.

Allen struggled, not sure what to make of it, but Ed had gone pale. It was the same sensation as being taken by the gate.

"No!" He shouted vehemently. His pupils dilated and a crazed, almost manic desperation rang through his voice "_Not again!_" He fought off the hands, using alchemy to create his customary blade. He sliced through the ones that were holding him, dodging the other hands that were trying to grasp at him.

Komui, Lenalee and the other Generals were startled by the spectacle.

"Edward!" Komui called, "Stop! She won't harm you!" Ed ignored him, adrenaline, fear and a sense of déjà-vu clouding his thoughts and pushing him to fight. He wouldn't lose to the Gate again; nor would he lose anyone else. He lunged towards Allen and cut the arms that held him too.

Allen dropped to the ground in confusion. While Edward was a good friend, he was inclined to believe that the being, Hevlaska, meant no harm. He tried to talk some sense into Ed, but he wasn't listening to anyone, until a piercing voice shouted to him,

"Ed," a soft voice rang through the hollow room. It made Edward stop dead in his tracks. The voice continued, "Don't worry, it's not the Gate!"

Ed turned slowly toward the voice. Allen looked, too. It belonged to a young looking girl, probably around their age. She had bright red hair that was medium length, just touching her shoulders. She wore the same black and white uniform that Lenalee wore. What was startling about her were, though, were the pure white wings that sprouted from her back. She looked like an angel, floating in the black nothingness that surrounded them.

"A-Armony?" Ed whispered disbelievingly. She smiled at him, "let Hevlaska examine you," she said softly.

Ed was too shocked to say anything, consenting to let Hevlaska's hands and arms to wind around him, checking his Innocence.

She commented on Allen first, saying that his synchro rate was 83% and prophesising that his Innocence would become the "Destroyer of Time".

Next, she examined Ed. "Your Innocence is very strange," She said, "It is much like the Exorcist with the wings," she gestured towards Armony. "It is combined with something…powerful. It is unlike other Innocence in that it is like a parasitic type as it does not require a weapon or a material object to contain it, yet it does not affect your body." She mused about this quietly for few minutes. As she set him on the ground, she prophesised to him softly, "The key to your home lies in your past. In crimson blood and past-shed tears,"

She placed both of the boys on the ground. Once their feet were touching the solid surface, they both pivoted and attempted to punch Komui, who blocked them both with a stack of papers and a clipboard.

He apologised and proceeded to explain to them what Innocence was.

"…the cube shaped substance that we called Innocence. Also known as God's Crystal…"

"And the original Philosophers' Stones," Armony interrupted, making eye contact with Ed. She shook her head slightly at him, indicating that she would explain later.

"Yes, that too, Armony. How do you two know each other anyway?" Komui asked, "Didn't you tell the order that you were abandoned?"

"Yes, I was. Edward and I came across each other at a train station a long time ago. I begged him to teach me some…science, since he's a certified genius. A lot happened, though, and we had to part ways. But that's how Ed became my small but mighty master." She winked at him, "But, he's not so small anymore," she noted. It was true; Ed was taller now. He had grown since entering this world. He hoped that it was a sign that he no longer had to share his energy with Al's body, meaning that Al had regained it. He refused to think of the other meaning.

After a long winded speech by Komui, detailing the rest of the story about Noah, the flood and Innocence, he held his hand out towards both Ed and Allen.

"You won't make a buck, but will you help our cause?"

"Of course," both Allen and Ed grinned and shook hands with Komui.

* * *

"So how did you get here?" Ed asked Armony after she showed him to his room.

"After I was used as a sacrifice," Ed shuddered, thinking back. Ed had indeed run into Armony at a train station. Eventually, she begged him to teach her Alchemy though her father had forbid her to study it. He and Al had mentored her anyway and the three of them became close friends. After many mishaps, they discovered that Armony's father had made Armony into the Philosophers' Stone Catalyst. She was then used as a sacrifice by an Alchemist named Camila. Armony died in her father's arms.

"I reconciled with my father and he died with me," Armony explained, "My soul was taken to the gate. I thought that I had died and that was the end. The gate however sensed the Philosophers' Stone Catalyst within me and said that it was enough for a second shot at life on this side of the gate. My father's soul encouraged me to take the offer and I was thrown into this world.

"I discovered that the catalyst within me fused with a piece of Innocence that I had found purely by chance. I was then offered a place here in the Black Order and have been living here for a year." She smiled at him.

"Can you still do Alchemy?" Ed asked.

Armony nodded her head enthusiastically, "I can, but I need a circle."

"But no one else can?"

"No one else knows about Alchemy,"

As Ed mulled this over, Lenalee and Allen appeared at the door.

"It's time for dinner," she said.

"Yeah, hurry up! I'm starving!"

The two girls showed the new recruits to the kitchen, where Allen's appetite shocked them thoroughly. While he stood in line to order and wait for his mountain of food, Ed looked for an empty seat. He was about to join Armony and Lenalee he when noticed a scuffle to the side and watched the exchange between Kanda and a Finder.

"We Finders support you, Exorcists!" A man in a white coat shouted throwing a punch at Kanda.

Kanda scoffed at him, "That's because supporting is all you can do" he grabbed the Finder by the neck and squeezed, "…your insignificant life means nothing,"

Edward dropped his tray and marched over to the two. He grabbed Kanda's wrist with his automail hand. There was an audible crunch as Ed crushed bone. Kanda dropped the Finder. Everyone in the vicinity winced at the cracking noise.

Edward locked eyes with Kanda and snarled; "No life, your irritable shit, is insignificant,"

"You're just begging for me to lob your head off, aren't you?" Kanda growled back, ignoring the horrible throbbing in his wrist.

"Stop, you two!" Allen said, trying to pry Ed's hand off Kanda's wrist. He was still trying in vain when Armony placed her hand on Ed's shoulder, "Ed, let go," she said, her quiet plead ringing in the silence of the cafeteria.

Ed released his grip and stalked off in the opposite direction, just as a voice called to them, cutting through the tense atmosphere "Hey, Kanda, Allen, Ed, Lenalee and Armony, Komui wants to see you in ten minutes!"

Kanda picked up his tray and dropped it on Jerry's counter and walked out of the cafeteria. The multitude in the hall burst into eager whispers and sidelong glances at Ed. Allen walked towards the table Ed and Armony were currently at and placed his mountain of food down.

In between mouthfuls, Allen asked, "Hey, Ed, how strong are you? I mean you snapped Kanda's wrist like a twig,"

"That's just because it was my right hand,"

"What's different about your right hand?" Armony looked to Ed and he smiled reassuringly. He removed his white glove and showed Allen his metallic hand.

"Wha…?" Allen wondered. People were surreptitiously attempting to catch glimpses of Ed's hand.

"I made a mistake. I have, hopefully, corrected it," Ed said determinedly. He wondered how Al was going, had Ed succeeded? Was Al even alive? Armony shared a tentative smile with him, trying to cheer him up.

"What do you…"

"Long story, don't want to talk about it," Ed muttered, getting up. Allen had, too, finished and they were both escorted by Armony and Lenalee to the tailor for fittings.

* * *

Allen and Armony arrived, about forty minutes later, at Komui's office.

"What took you guys so long?" Komui asked. Kanda was sitting in a chair, meditating, or possibly sleeping, his wrist having healed extraordinarily fast. A red haired boy with an eyepatch who was introduced to them as Lavi was grinning happily and sorting through a few papers.

"We had some problems…" Allen groaned, remembering the ordeal.

"Problems…? The uniform looks great on you, by the way, Allen," Allen adjusted the sleeves of his brand new jacket and grinned,

"Thanks," he said.

"Now we're just waiting on…" Komui was interrupted as Ed flung the office door open, nearly knocking it off of its hinges. He was followed by a slightly annoyed Lenalee, who was tapping an irritated pen against her clipboard.

"Where's your uniform, Ed?" Komui asked, noting Ed's normal attire; the red traveling cloak and black jacket, shirt and pants.

"I don't wear uniforms," Ed grumbled.

"It's regulation. You have too." Komui said.

Ed shot a glare towards Armony, who had just spent nearly half an hour trying to drill the same thing into Ed's thick skull. Unfortunately, it takes something considerably larger than a drill to crack Ed's stubbornness.

"I _never_ wear uniforms, and I was in the God-damned mili…" Ed cut himself off, "Never mind," he grumbled, "I don't wear uniforms; that's that." Lavi raised an eyebrow, listening keenly to what was going on around him, as a good Bookman apprentice ought to.

Attempting to avoid an argument, Komui decided to compromise, "Fine. Will you at least wear the Rose Cross Badge?"

"I don't believe in God," Ed snorted.

"You wear that snake-cross thing on your back, though," Lavi pointed out.

"That's different; it's not religious. Who are you?"

"I'm Lavi, Bookman in training,"

Ed nodded, "I'm Edward Elric,"

"Well, then, wear the Rose Cross as a sign of our Organisation, not as a religious mark," Armony reasoned. Eventually, Ed sighed in defeat.

"Fine," Ed groaned, pinning the badge that Komui passed him onto his red traveling cloak, "So what's this mission anyway?" He asked as he fiddled with the clasp.

Komui cleared his throat and pointed to a map, "These marks here are recent Akuma attacks. They're colour-coded, white means only one or two, blue means three to five, red means five to ten and black means more than ten," The teens looked at the map and nodded.

"There are finders here and here. We need two teams of exorcists at these places to get rid of the Akuma, of which there are a lot. Ed, Kanda, Allen you're going here," he pointed to a rather large city "I don't wanna go with him" Both Ed and Allen pointed at Kanda who was sitting in his chair, pretending that this was all just one of Komui's not funny jokes.

"Too bad." Komui shrugged, not really caring about their intragroup hatred, "Lenalee, Armony and Lavi are headed here," Komui pointed to a random country town in the whoop whoops.

"Now, off you go!" He pointed to the door.

Ed muttered a string of curses, followed by Allen, who was not happy, but keeping a cooler head than Ed. They went to pack their belongings ready for an early departure the next morning.

* * *

The six exorcists sat comfortably on their train. They would ride on the same rail for three hours, then Ed, Allen and Kanda would depart, leaving Lavi, Lenalee and Armony to continue on a different line for another hour. To kill time, Allen brought out a pack of cards.

"So who wants to play?" Allen asked, shuffling the deck.

"I'm up for it!" Lavi said, accepting a hand. Lenalee declined politely, Kanda snorted derisively and Armony agreed hesitantly.

"Uhh…sure, what are we playing?" She asked looking over her hand.

"We'll play normal poker. I don't have any chips though." Allen decided that with a girl playing strip poker would be highly inappropriate, "Ed, can you make some?" Ed shrugged, clapped his hands and placed them on the wooden floor. He drew dye out from the carpet to create chips of various sizes and colours. He gave a handful to each of them.

"Are you playing?" Allen asked him.

"Sure, I guess." Allen handed him his cards and explained the rules to Armony. Ed looked over his cards and frowned.

"Place your bets." Ed wagered a small green chip. They made a system where green was the least, then blue, then red.

They all laid down their hands, Allen holding a Straight Flush, grinning wildly.

"How'd you manage that?" Lavi asked skeptically.

"He's obviously cheating," Ed grinned, reminiscing back to his military days. Mustang, Havoc, Breda and Fury always had some running bet or card game that they would drag an unwilling Ed into. Fury always lost, Havoc and Breda always cheated and Mustang usually ended up setting the cards on fire when he lost, erasing all evidence.

"Goddam Mustang…" Ed muttered under his breath, remembering the many burnt fingers and singed gloves as Mustang set alight the cards that they were _still holding_!

As the rounds progressed, Armony dropped out, losing all of her chips and Allen explained his traumatic past with General Cross. By the tenth round, Ed was losing, with only four chips left.

"I'm betting it all on this hand," Ed said, pushing his chips into the middle.

"That confident, huh? Well I'll see your bet and raise you two more chips!" Lavi grinned, confidently. Allen did the same, they both looked at Ed expectantly.

"I don't have anymore chips!"

"Then I guess you're out," Ed clapped his hands and produced another stack of chips. He placed two in the middle.

"Happy?"

"That can't be fair." Lavi whined.

Lavi showed his hand; a Full House, Allen and Ed laid their hands down, showing Royal Flushes, but Ed's was of spades.

"Looks like my win," Ed grinned, gathering the chips and adding them to his newly created stack.

Three rounds later and Ed was sitting, with a satisfied grin, on a tower of chips.

Allen eyed him suspiciously and asked, "Why do I have two queens of spades?" he showed them to Ed.

"Why do I have five aces?" Lavi frowned, accusingly at Ed.

"Uhhh…"

"You cheated with Alchemy?" Armony laughed.

"I don't see how it's any different to him cheating!" Ed pointed an accusing finger at Allen.

"You've ruined my deck!"

"Be thankful I didn't set them on fire!"

"You might as well have! I can't use them anymore!"

"Quit your griping, I'll fix them," Ed looked over the deck and changed each individual card back to normal.

"Why do you have to look at all of the cards? Why didn't you just clap your hands and fix the whole deck at once?"

"I'd have to redo all of the cards, since I don't know which ones were missing. Same reason why I can't just fix a book with paper and ink. I'd need to have read the book,"

Allen looked confused, "It's like trying to draw a picture of something you've never seen," Ed explained.

Allen nodded. Allen and Lavi continued playing cards and Ed pulled out a book. They had another hour to kill before arriving at Ed, Allen and Kanda's stop.

* * *

"So, where are we going?" Ed asked Allen, who was holding the map.

"Well, there have been a few Akuma sightings here and here, apparently." He jabbed his finger at various points on the map.

"Let's find the hotel first, beansprouts,"

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT THAT HE COULDN'T BE SEEN EVEN THROUGH A MICROSCOPE?" Ed yelled. People stopped to stare at the three oddly dressed strangers, two wearing long black coats and the other wearing a red travelling cloak and screaming bloody murder.

"Tch, looks like the taller beansprout has a temper,"

Ed wasn't sure how to react; he was called both tall and short in one statement. He decided to let it slide and observe the people around him.

He didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, until a little girl bumped into him. He stumbled backwards and caught the girl, making sure she didn't fall. Her long hazel braids whipped around her as she steadied herself.

Ed paled, cold sweat forming on the back of his neck. He whispered, "Nina?" The little girl looked up at him.

"Oopsie! Sorry big brother!" she skipped off down the road, into the huge throng that enveloped the market area. Ed watched her go disbelievingly.

"Ed? Ed? You okay?" Allen asked.

"Huh? Oh. Yeah. Fine, let's just go," Ed turned around and headed for their hotel.

* * *

They sat in Allen's room two days later. They found nothing. They were discussing how to draw out the Akuma when the door opened. Kanda, who sat in the corner with his eyes closed, sipping at the green tea he had ordered from room service, cracked an eyelid.

"Sup, guys?" Lavi said, making himself comfortable on the bed. Lenalee and Armony walked in after him.

"What are you guys doing here?" Allen asked.

"Nii san said that you guys hadn't finished your mission and since this city is on our way back we'd thought we'd come and help." Lenalee said, taking a seat behind a desk.

"So how's it going?" Armony asked, sitting on the floor next to Ed.

"Pretty shit. Nothing's happening! I'm soooo bored! How was your mission?"

"Pretty good. The townsfolk were quite helpful and we found a piece of Innocence! We had to take out a few Akuma to get it, but it was pretty easy," Armony showed Ed the cube. He examined it. It was pearlescent white and hard as diamond. He tossed it up and down and tried doing some alchemy with it. It didn't respond. Armony tried too, drawing a circle and attempting to make paper out of nothing, but it failed. Lavi watched curiously, but wasn't really able to make heads or tails of what they were doing. After a while, Ed and Armony gave up.

"Hey, Allen, toss me the missions briefing," Allen passed the folder to Ed. He read it through. It was sloppy, contained relatively useless information and it wasn't in any particular order. Ed had a new found appreciation for Mustang's military precision and coherent structuring.

He gave the briefing a cursory glance, then something caught his eye. He read it through carefully, _Shou Tucker, Science Department: Stationed in the city. Shou Tucker was originally a Finder, but transferred into the science division. He, along with other Finders, reported the increase in Akuma activity in the area, He is credited for his work on Akuma, most notably taming one, which after muttering the words "I want to die" committed suicide…there was a great spike in activity four years ago. If the exorcists are having problems or are in need of any assistance, Shou Tucker's address:…_

"Oh, shit!" Ed shouted, leaping up from his seat. Allen, who was doing one armed push ups on a chair while keeping his body completely vertical, slipped and fell on his face. Armony squealed with surprise and spilled ink all over her mission report to Komui, Lenalee jumped about a foot in the air and Lavi fell out of his seat, where he had been previously sleeping. Kanda spilt his hot tea on his leg. He pulled out Mugen and waved it threateningly in Ed's face.

"This better be important," Kanda snarled as Allen rubbed his neck and picked himself off of the floor. Armony was pretty pissed, having nearly finished the report and Lavi laughed, happy that, finally, he wasn't the only one being threatened with Mugen.

"We need to get to Shou Tucker's house _right now!_"

"Shou Tucker? The scientist?" Lenalee asked.

"The one who did all that research on Akuma and won the yearly research grant?" Lavi asked.

They looked to Ed for an explanation, but he was already running out of the room. The five exorcists followed Ed out and through the city. They came to a halt outside a grand house on the outskirts of the city. Ed was about to bust down the door, when Allen and Lavi grabbed a hold of him.

"Ed, what's wrong with you?"

"Calm down and tell us what's going on!"

Lenalee rang the doorbell, but no one was responding, "I guess he's not home,"

"Let go of me! We need to get in there before it's too late!"

"Too late for what?" Allen and Lavi struggled to control him.

"Let Ed go; he's usually got good instincts when it comes to this kind of stuff," Armony said, attempting to pry Lavi off of him.

Ed shrugged both of them off and broke down the front door. The house was a lot like Tucker's Amestrian house, so Ed navigated easily through the library and into the back room. The six exorcists noticed the Shou, standing over a small girl, who was lying, unconscious, on the floor.

"Oh, exorcists," Shou said, noting their uniform, "I'm sorry, I mustn't have heard the door bell,"

"Give it up, Tucker; I won't let you hurt Nina again!" Ed shouted, his eyes full of anger and accusation.

"What are you talking about, Mr Exorcist?"

"Four years ago, the 'tamed Akuma' was your wife, wasn't it?" Ed yelled, "You made a deal with the Earl to turn your wife into an Akuma so that you could get a research grant from the Order!"

Tucker adjusted his glasses, "I don't know what you're talking about,"

"Admit it, you bastard! Now you're trying to do it again with Nina! Your file says that your accreditation is coming up!"

"You may be right, but I guess no one will ever know," Tucker said, a maniacal gin enveloping his face. Behind him, the Millennium Earl emerged from the shadows.

"Why, if it isn't a bunch of exorcists!" he said, floating on his umbrella, "Allow me to introduce myself, I am the Millennium Earl," He gave a mock bow and with a sweeping gesture of his arms he indicated to the back wall of Tucker's house. Allen's cursed eye began to whirl. He clasped a hand over it and tried to shout a warning, which was drowned out by an explosion. The back wall was blown apart, "And this is my army of Akuma,"

A huge multitude of Akuma floated outside the house, "Shou Tucker here has done something quite unique; he has willing given me loved ones to turn into Akuma. He is a mole in the Black Order. It is in my interest to keep him alive. Therefore, exorcists, you must die!"

The exorcists all invocated their Innocence. Lenalee jumped up, creating a huge tornado to blow back the Akuma in order for them to escape from the small room. The exorcists jumped out of the room, Ed grabbing the unconscious Nina.

"Drop her off somewhere safe!" He yelled to Armony through the commotion. Armony nodded and picked up both Ed and Nina. She beat down with her large white wings lifted the three of them up easily. Ed shouted and flailed around wildly. As they got higher, Armony began to notice his shrieks of protest, "What was that, Ed?"

"I said, 'WHAT THE HELL?!'"

"What? STOP STRUGGLING! It's getting annoying!"

"Then put me down! I need to help them!"

"I thought you wanted me to take Nina somewhere safe?"

"Yeah! Nina! Not me!"

"Urgh, I couldn't hear you! It's too late now anyway, just hang on,"

"Hang on?" he shouted gesturing to the fact that Armony was clutching his automail arm in one hand, leaving him pretty much dangling in the air, and cradling Nina in the other, "How the hell are you carrying both of us so easily anyway?"

"My Innocence fortifies my bones and allows me to do super human things," Armony said simply.

* * *

Allen used his massive claw to cut through the Akuma, tearing into them while praying for their happiness in the afterlife. As he fought, his anti-Akuma weapon began to evolve. He was able to change its shape and turn it into a cannon, which he used to fire a green missile at an Akuma that was attempting to sneak up behind Lenalee.

Lenalee noticed the explosion to her left and locked eyes with Allen. She noticed his cannon-arm and shot him a quick smile before launching a round house kick into an Akuma's head, causing it to detonate. She used the shockwave of the explosion to launch herself at two more Akuma, landing on one and pushing off of it, sending it hurtling into the ground and killing it. She used her speed shackles to quickly appear behind the other Akuma and launched a twister at it. The Akuma, a level two, dodged it and flew right into one of Lavi's seals.

"Seal of Fire!" Lavi shouted. A glowing red talisman appeared. He struck it with his giant hammer and a fire serpent leapt out, engulfing three Akuma, including a level two that was giving Lenalee problems. He directed the serpent into another two Akuma before it died out. He then used "Heaven's seal" to kill off various Akuma. He fell forward, however, when Kanda knocked into him, pushing him out of the way and parrying an Akuma's blow with his sword.

"Move it, Rabbit," he growled, slicing through the Akuma. He used his sheath to block another blow and simultaneously cut down a large level one. He side stepped a large bullet while striking out with Mugen. He ran his blade through an Akuma, positioning himself in the middle of a ring of Akuma. He released the first illusion, hell's insects, but didn't stay to watch them devour the Akuma, opting instead to attack another group. He invocated the second illusion, his double blades cutting down Akuma swiftly and efficiently.

* * *

Floating above the battlefield was a little girl, standing on an umbrella next to the Millennium Earl.

"Well, Road, what do you think?" the Earl asked, grinning wildly at the bloodshed.

"I like that kid with the white hair, he's cute. That girl is pretty too," she licked at a lollipop and pointed to Lenalee, who was dancing circles around the Akuma, "I think she'd make a nice doll. With curled hair and a pretty dress," Road said, smiling.

"And the others?"

"Mr Swordsman down there looks quite boring. I don't like him. The red haired pirate looks quite funny! I like his hammer!" Road sat on the umbrella.

"Ahhhh!" Road and the Earl looked up. They saw a red haired girl with large incandescent wings slap her forehead with her palm. The next thing they knew a teenage boy with blonde hair was barreling into them. He knocked Road off of the umbrella and they both hurtled to the earth. Ed, instincts kicking in, pulled the small girl into his arms and landed heavily on his automail leg. He grunted and rolled with the impact.

He gently set the girl down and shook his fist at Armony, "I'm going to kill you later!"

"Sorry, Ed! I told you to stop squirming!" Armony laughed as she joined the battle. They had dropped Nina in the hotel, Armony having activated her "swift winds" invocation. She dropped on an unsuspecting Akuma, furled her wings and did a back flip off of it, sending it falling onto another Akuma, both thrown off kilter. She then snapped out her wings and shot a flurry of feathers out, hitting the Akuma and destroying them.

Ed looked around, his head swimming. "Sorry, kid," he said and ran off to join the fight. Road watched him run off. She smiled. What a handsome boy! And how kind of him to attempt to save her, taking the brunt of the impact. She watched him curiously as he clapped his hands together. He looked like he was praying to god. He touched the ground lightly and she gasped as twenty Akuma were impaled with stone spikes. That took care of nearly all of the Akuma close to the ground and with the angel girl shooting out feathers that destroyed the Akuma upon touch she cleared the sky of their Akuma army. The addition of a mere two exorcists to the battle proved the fatal turning point for the Noah.

"Interesting. Those two exorcists are quite the dilemma. Come on, Road, we should go," Road tore her eyes off the cute blonde who was grinning at the other exorcists. They thanked him and remarked that his skills were impressive.

"But Earrrllllll I wanna watch a bit mooooorreee," she whined.

The Earl looked at her. He shrugged and left her to her own devices. Road quietly changed her form and watched the exorcists.

* * *

Ed concentrated on all the Akuma he could see. He clapped and pressed his hands into the ground and formed twenty meticulously crafted spikes, making sure that each rose at the precise spot where an Akuma was hovering. He caught all of them by surprise, killing them all easily. He made sure to avoid the three other exorcists on the ground, Allen, Kanda and Lavi. He grinned as they turned to find him dusting off his hands.

"It's about time you got back!" Lavi grinned, cradling a broken arm.

"Stupid mechanical freak, coming late," Kanda muttered, choosing the nickname based on the metallic arm he could see, Ed's glove having been ripped off when he fell. He limped over to wear the others were standing, his leg foot looked twisted in a weird way.

"Ed, I'm glad you're back," Allen waved Ed over. He was covered in various cuts and bruises, not having to worry about the poisoning of the Akuma blood like the others. He had quite a large gash across his back.

"Yeah, well we've got some unfinished business," Ed said, walking back to the house. Inside he found Tucker.

"You…where's my Nina? What did you do to her?" Shou pointed at him.

"Me? WHAT DID I DO TO HER? YOU'RE A SICK BASTARD IN EVERY WORLD!" Ed snarled, punching Tucker in the face.

"I need her back, I need the money! I need to continue my research!" Ed's rage grew with every word that came out of Tucker's mouth. He aimed another punch at Tucker's face.

"Ed, that's enough." Armony stepped forward and caught his fist, having to briefly invocate her Innocence to hold back Ed's hand.

"Why? Why does someone _always_ stop me from killing this bastard? I hope there's a Scar equivalent of this world waiting for you," Ed snarled quietly. He turned briskly and headed back to the hotel.

Ed sat on the bed and found Nina where they had left her. Ed, Armony and Lenalee went to bed straight away, though Kanda, Lavi and Allen had to be treated at the local hospital for their injuries. The next day, the group ventured back to Shou's house, Lavi's arm in a sling, Kanda using crutches and Allen's torso wrapped and stiff. Ed went in first and found Tucker's body on the ground. It had been impaled through the head with some kind of pointy, conical object, judging by the puncture wound. He warned the squeamish to stay outside. They all came in anyway. Lenalee broke down into tears at the sight. She then thought about the fatherless Nina, "That poor little girl," She whispered.

"This is better than the alternative. We were lucky to get here in time," Ed said, shaking his head.

The other exorcists looked at him critically; Lavi decided to voice the unasked question, "How did you know all of it, Ed?"

"I got it wrong the first time. I learn from my mistakes," Ed said simply. He walked out of the house and down the street.

There were many concerned neighbours gathering around the house. They noticed the exorcists and asked them what had happened, many hoping that little Nina was okay. One particularly frantic woman ran up to them and demanded to know what happened, whether Nina was okay. The other exorcists motioned for her to step back, but Ed asked them to let her through.

"How do you know her?" he asked.

"I practically raised that child for four years! Ever since her mother divorced Shou. He became a recluse and barely took care of Nina!"

"Don't worry she's safe. Unfortunately, though, we were unable to save Mr Tucker from the Akuma,"

The woman looked tearful at the news. Ed gave her a reassuring smile, though, and said "I've got a proposition for you,"

* * *

Nina woke slowly. After a minute, her eyes adjusted to the room and she looked around, "Oh," she said quietly when she noticed Ed, "You're the big brother I ran into this morning!"

Ed smiled weakly, "Yeah,"

"Where's my daddy?"

Ed paused. He had been debating various different scenarios to tell Nina, but hadn't come up with a good one.

"Sweetie," Armony said gently, taking her small hand, "He was killed by Akuma,"

"What? No! Daddy…" Nina began weeping. Lenalee picked up the small girl and held her.

"I'm sorry, Nina," Ed said, moving towards the door, "Here, though, I got this for you in town," Ed opened the door to reveal a massive Labrador. It was a light shade of blonde, almost white and was wagging its tail frantically.

"His name is Alexander. He was a final gift from your dad. His last request was for us to buy you this dog specifically," Ed said. Nina, through her tear filled eyes, looked up at Ed, "Really? Daddy said that?" Ed nodded solemnly.

The dog bounded up to Nina and began to lick her. She giggled, "Thank you, big brother, and thank you daddy. I love you…" She whispered.

"Nina?" Nina looked up to see the woman from earlier that morning.

"Oh, Mrs Hughes!"

"Nina!" Gracia enveloped her in a hug, "I'm here to adopt you, Nina," Gracia said with a smile.

"How do you know you can trust her, Ed?" Lenalee asked as they oversaw the final bits of paperwork, "After all, she could be lying."

"Don't worry. She's got a daughter the about the same age as Nina. I'm sure they'll get along," Ed watched Gracia Hughes take Nina's small hand in her own and lead her back into town. Nina kept one hand on Alexander's golden fur and smiled gratefully up to the motherly woman and Ed felt overwhelmingly that something was right in the universe for once.

* * *

End of Story

And that's that. Just in case you were interested, this was the intended trajectory for the story;

I foreshadowed some intended Road interaction. I was hoping to incorporate her into the story a bit because I liked Road's character. Eventually, my plan was to have Armony be the "Heart". As I've explained, she is able to do Alchemy, but she shouldn't be able to (no one in the DGM world is able to do Alchemy, even if they learnt the principles behind it); Ed can because his Innocence is the ability to use Alchemy. But Armony's Innocence manifests as her wings. It was supposed to be this huge revelation sort of thing where they realise that Armony can use two sets of Innocence, but that could only be possible if she had the "Heart" otherwise known as the "Original Philosophers Stone", as I've alluded to.

The final scenes would have been some huge battle between the Noah and the Black Order. Armony dives in front of Ed at the last second to save his life, probably taking a bullet or something that was meant for him. With her dying breath she'd release the Philosopher's stone into Ed's hands and beg him to use it to cross the gate.

After a tearful death scene, Ed would summon the Gate and trade the philosopher's stone to go home, thus he would, in essence, 'destroy' it. With the "Heart" destroyed, the DGM world would be rid of Innocence and dark matter, the Noah would return to their human forms and the exorcists would no longer need to fight.

I thought it would wrap up the entire series pretty well.

Anyway, please leave your thoughts and comments below. Hope you enjoyed that.

If you've got any suggestions for future crossovers, let me know that too.

I love words of encouragement so feel free to leave some of those too!

:D Laughing on the Inside :D


	3. Shugo Chara meets Fullmetal Alchemist

A/N; What up? I'm back with another crossover. While the previous two were quite standard (FMAxHP and FMAxDGM are pretty common), this one is going to be a very unique one; FMAx Shugo Chara! Whatttttt? NO, THIS NOT CRACK.

I really like this story so I hope you guys do too. I think I might move this story into the FMA catergory and out of the crossover catergory, since only the first chapter is actually an FMAxHP crossover.

Just FYI, i will let you guys know if someone adopts these stories by posting it in the next chapter. I have yet to receive offers for them so if you're keen, let me know :)

**Adoptables**

_Third Crossover; Shugo Chara x Fullmetal Alchemist_

* * *

_"Hello Mr. Al-che-mist"_

_"Shit"_

* * *

Ed sat on a bench and pondered how his life had gone to hell so quickly. He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. Albeit, his life before wasn't all sunshine and roses, but at least it made sense! Ed had stood before the gate, willing to give up his alchemy in return for his brother's body, but no; the gate didn't want it.

_"Mr. Al-che-mist, you have such a talent for alchemy and you are always so amusing to watch! I'd much rather you trade something else," Truth grinned his ever-present, toothy smile._

_"I've got nothing else! What the heck do you want?!" Ed yelled in frustration._

_"How about this; there is an object I would like, but it's in a different timeline and the humans there are incompetent and they have yet to find it. Find me the "Embryo" and I will allow you to keep your alchemy and give you your brother's body back,"_

_"What do you mean a different timeline?" Ed asked in utter confusion._

_If Truth had eyes, Ed was certain he'd be rolling them; "This is a Gate, Al-che-mist. Gates connect things; worlds, times, spaces,"_

_"But…"_

Ed was about to debate the implications and complications of jumping into a parallel universe when the Gate dumped him unceremoniously in Japan, 2010.

"Seriously, what the f*ck?" Ed growled to himself. He stood up and wandered around, trying to come up with a way of tackling this issue.

_First of all, what the hell is an Embryo?_ Ed wondered. He was so lost in thought that he bumped into a tall man with brown hair.

"Whoa, sorry mister" Ed apologised in Xingese. Ed was quite proficient in the language thanks to Mei Chan and Ling The man smiled kindly and accepted the apology, then he seemed to scrutinise Ed with an intense, puzzled look.

"You are a strange boy," he said.

"And you have the face of a twelve year old," Ed shot back. The man quirked his lip in amusement.

"So do you," Ed growled, but the man ignored him and continued; "The stars tell me you are very special," he held out a deck of cards, offering them to Ed.

"Oh crap; a lunatic. Just my goddamn luck,"

"Pick a card," The man urged, "The card you choose will tell me all I need to know about you,"

"What are you, a fortune teller?"

The man grinned, "I'm an astrologer,"

"Even worse," Ed muttered. The man continued to stare patiently at him.

"Urgh, fine!" Ed growled, thinking the man would perform a neat magic trick and be done with it. Then he could return to cursing Truth and his life in general. He reached for a card and was struck by a fun idea. He brought his hands together lightly and pulled off the top card from the proffered deck. There was a faint flash of light they may have just been the glare off of the painted card. The man indicated that Ed should slip the card back in. Ed did so. He then turned on his heel and walked away with a grin on his face.

* * *

Tsukasa watched the strange boy leave, not caring about the rest of Tsukasa's card trick. He shrugged. It didn't matter. He had seen the boy before, in one of his premonitions; he knew the boy would be important in the future; a catalyst for change. He knew he would see the strange golden haired, golden eyed boy again.

As Tsukasa walked back to the school, he sifted through his deck to find the card the boy had chosen; a single card could tell a lifetime of struggles, past and present. Tsukasa eagerly flipped the card the boy had picked. He was amused, intrigued and deeply confused.

The card read; "I've got tricks of my own".

Yes; Tsukasa would be keeping tabs on that boy.

* * *

Ed was enraged. He was absolutely livid. He was being forced to go to school. The great Fullmetal Alchemist, hero of the people! Attending high school!

"Why the hell do I have to go to school?!" he shouted angrily.

"It's the law" the truant officer replied dumping Ed at the gates of Seiyo Academy.

"Truth dumped me in a parallel universe 110 years into the future just to watch me go to school. Sadistic, maniacal, f*cking crazy bastard!" Ed growled to himself.

"Hello," Ed turned and aimed his demonic gaze at whoever was unlucky enough to welcome him. His glare turned to a surprise as he realised he had met the man before.

"You're the nutjob guy from this morning!"

"Nice to meet you again and welcome to my school. I'm Amakawa Tsukasa,"

"You run a school?" Ed asked raising an eyebrow, "How far the education system has fallen. Sorry, but I refuse to be part of any school you're running," Ed said and was about to walk off, when Tsukasa grabbed him by the collar.

"Now, now, I don't think you should be so hasty. I'm sure my school can offer you some unique opportunities,"

"Yeah. Right. I don't need them; I've got more pressing matters to deal with,"

"I may have some information worth your while, if you're willing to come with me for a bit," The man smiled reassuringly. Something in the man's all-knowing smile made him pause for a moment. He glared at the man, scrutinising him with the careful precision of an alchemical prodigy. The brown haired man bore it patiently, until Ed finally growled and gave in; a few hours of his time wouldn't kill him.

* * *

They made their way to the back of a large hall. On stage sat a group of elementary schoolers. One spoke at the podium, making a welcome back speech to his peers. He called himself the "King" and introduced the rest of the students on stage; "the Queen; Rima Mashiro, the Jack; Nagihiko Fujisaki, the Ace; Yaya Yuiki and the Joker; Amu Hinamori". Halfway through the speech, Ed died of boredom until, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a shimmer. He looked closer and rubbed his eyes, thinking they were playing tricks on him. He stared dumbfounded for another minute, then turned to see whether Tsukasa was seeing the same thing. On his face was a pleased smile.

"Do you see the little floating person-thing next to that kid's head, too?"

"I knew there was something about you," Tsukasa grinned happily. He proceeded to ask Ed a couple of questions, including his age and other assorted details.

"Edward, I'm going to assign you a class in the highschool division. You will be a senior,"

"Whatever," Ed mumbled as he stared at the floating creatures around the elementary kids. He was broken out of his reverie by applause and the general chaos of students and teachers exiting the hall.

"Go to the Royal Gardens and you can meet the kids and ask them your questions. I'll fill out your enrolment. You can start tomorrow. Drop by my office whenever you're done," Tsukasa said, pointing Ed in the right direction before ambling off to fill in paperwork.

Ed found the gardens and was surprised to see all the kids sitting around chatting with their tiny friends.

Ed knocked on some of the metal fencing to catch their attention.

"Oh, hello! Who are you?" the pink haired girl said. Her hair was the most unnatural shade of pink he had ever seen. It reminded him of Rose.

"I'm Edward Elric. A crazy card-sharp called Tsukasa told me to come and talk to you guys,"

"The chairman?"

"Yeah, he said you could tell me about those dwarf things floating around your head,"

The guardians froze in shock.

"You can see them?" Tadase asked.

"Yeah. So what are they?"

"They're Shugo Chara; Guardian characters," Amu explained.

"Right…?" The guardians began to explain the purpose and origin of the guardian characters with Tsukasa's picture book a helpful aid.

Ed cocked an eyebrow at the entire explanation, "So overall you guys just have split personalities?"

"No!" they denied vehemently, "They represent what our would-be selves!"

"Don't you have one, Elric san?" Yaya asked.

"No," Ed shrugged.

"But…then how can you see ours?"

"That's a good question, since I'm half convinced you guys just have multiple-personality disorder,"

"Hey!" Tadase complained.

"Does that mean your Shugo Chara is still asleep within you?" Yaya asked.

"I doubt I have one," Ed said sceptically, "I'm perfectly happy as I am,"

The Guardians looked at Ed, wondering what it would be like to be completely satisfied with who they truly were.

"Wait, so what's an "Embryo"?" Ed asked breaking them out of their reverie.

The group was quiet, "An embryo is a special egg that can grant one wish; anything you desire," Nagihiko said after a pause

Ed's gaze narrowed. It sounded much too close to a philosopher's stone for his liking, "How do you get it?"

"We're not sure, why?" Tadase asked, suspicious of the odd new-comer.

"No reason," Ed shrugged nonchalantly, then turned to leave.

"Wait, Elric san, where are you going?"

"I have to go to the highschool division apparently,"

"Really, how old are you?"

"I'm sixteen,"

"Will you come again?" the pink haired girl asked.

Ed shrugged, "Sure, why not,"

* * *

Ed made his way to the highschool division and took a seat. He was introduced to the class and made to sit next to a teen with blue hair. _This place has the weirdest hair colours. I wonder if it's the fashion_. Ed wondered, assuming that everyone here just dyed their hair. The boy slept soundly, head buried into the crook of his elbow. Ed looked closer and noticed a small, navy haired, cat eared Shugo Chara nestled comfortably on the boy's shoulder.

* * *

End of Story 3

Yes, well, that was interesting. I had planned for Ed to become friends/enemies/antagonistic buddies with Ikuto, maybe had Amu fall in love with Ed just to spice things up, but then I realised that their worlds were just too different. Ed comes from a grittier reality than the world of Shugo Chara and I felt like I couldn't put Ed into such a Shoujo-esque world without either ruining his characer or destroying the Shugo Chara world.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed that. Please let me know your thoughts, I'd absolutely love to hear them :)


End file.
